Old Disney Park photos

[Blackrex77]

Wow!!!

I will post 2 pics from a trip in 2007!!

 

[LJD2143]

Just found this cool photo thread - such a neat idea!

Here's my contribution - pictures starting from my first trip in 1976 up to 1982:

1976 - That's me in the middle!

1978 - That's me on the left - Cool socks huh? And I still have that purse!

1979 - Me on the right at the old Poly volcano pool

1980

1981

1982 - January 1982

 

[chicagoshannon]

Those are great! I miss the Diamond Horshoe. I also think the old Poly pool was much prettier!

 

[Daddee]

wow this thread is awesome.
Im gonna need to bug my Mom for our family pics.
I know the last time I was at the world was 85. I know I was in WDW twice with my parents before that. I was also in DisneyLand. My last trip was with my HS Marching Band. I doubt I took any pictures on that trip. I wish I did since I marched in the 3pm parade.
Hopefully I will be able to get everything scanned at some point

 

[letthewookiewin]

First up, just proving I'm old enough to remember, and have gone on the Skyway.

I love this pic!! It was was waiting in line to get on the Skyway back in March 1994 that I met my DH. We were so sad when we went to WDW for our 5th wedding anniversary and it was gone.

 

[bama4ever]

I loved "The Diamond Horseshoe" show. I really hate that they took it away! I remember sitting in balcony eating a wonderful brownie sundae!

 

[zackiedawg]

Well here goes! I finally have been working on scanning some old slides and photos from my archives (and my family's archives) from my annual Disney visits since the park opened. I haven't come close to going through them all, but have a few that I scanned in.

Here's a shot of me & my uncle sitting by the fence that lined the sidewalk to Frontierland Station in MK in 1973...that field in the background is now filled with Big Thunder Mountain railroad, and where we are standing approximately is filled with Splash Mountain:

Here we are again...fascinated with one of the big horses in front of the castle. The bridge to Liberty Square is to the left, and the left walkway up the castle just behind us. Note that the trees and hadges hadn't grown in much yet, so you can still clearly see through to Fantasyland behind the castle, where as now you see mostly the hedges lining the back pathways:

Here's the center circle area in front of the castle, circa 1984. The little round flowerbed in the middle is where the Partners statue now stands, and notice how the tree planters and benches still surround the center area (I miss that - much more shady and less crowded-feeling back then in the middle):

The 1983 version of the Frontierland Station...note how wide open the path is, and how you look right at the train station from Pecos Bill's (on the left). Of course, Splash Mountain wedged itself into this space, and forced Frontierland Station farther back:

Check out Space Mountain from 1983/4...not much of a line outside...but also not much adornment to the building! Just an entrance to the corridor, and the little spaceman-coaster sculpture out front. And no arcade building either:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea subs - before they became an empty lake with Ariel's grotto, and before that became Pooh's wood play area. This is circa 1983:

Epcot 1984 - Horizons. An old favorite for me too...now Mission:Space sits on this spot:

Next door to Horizons sat World of Motion...which was probably my favorite overall ride in Epcot. I was always a car guy, so the history of cars and all the cool cars inside, as well as the cool exhibit on the way out of real cars and future concepts, really made my day. This was also 1984. Test Track now fills this space:

1984, Epcot World Showcase near Japan. OK...so not too much different here, except I was happy that I found a photo that showed the double-decker busses still running around the World Showcase:

In Epcot, they used to have this roaming Gypsy puppet show called "Promenade Players"...this shot is from 1984 I believe:

Here's a monorail shot coming out of MK towards Contemporary. Note that just below the monorail, the tree-lined access road is now the extended MK bus depot area...and notice how Contemporary still had no convention center attached to it:

View in 1984 from the Fort Wilderness boat:

Inside the Contemporary around the same time, there was not yet a Chef Mickeys or Concourse Steakhouse...there was just the Terrace Cafe:

This is a shot taken from the mini boats rented from the Contemporary in 1984 - a cruise past River Country, the still thriving 'Waterin' Hole" near Fort Wilderness that is no more:

 

[Swoop1]

Does 1993 count as old? Even if it doesn't I'm posting them anyway. I tried to find some late 70's pics but I can't, guess my mom still has them.

I don't remember but pretty sure this is MGM, guess it could be Universal, I just can't remember.

Don't remember exactly where in Epcot this picture came from but I want to fly around in that thing

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

Don't remember exactly where in Epcot this picture came from but I want to fly around in that thing

Horizons.

One of the gags in Horizons was that you could choose one of three endings. Zipping around in that little spacecraft was one of them (the others involved a flying aircar and a personal submersible).

Here's a shot of me & my uncle sitting by the fence that lined the sidewalk to Frontierland Station in MK in 1973...that field in the background is now filled with Big Thunder Mountain railroad, and where we are standing approximately is filled with Splash Mountain:

Actually, I think that's where the Frontierland Smoking Section now sits. At least, those totem poles are still there, and I don't believe they've ever been moved.

The 1983 version of the Frontierland Station...note how wide open the path is, and how you look right at the train station from Pecos Bill's (on the left). Of course, Splash Mountain wedged itself into this space, and forced Frontierland Station farther back:

Nope. That's where the Frontierland Parade Gate is now. Splash Mountain is a little bit further up to the right.

 

[joy13]

I'm not sure what is more fun about this thread - the old Disney pictures or the fashions in them

 

[chicagoshannon]

Here's the center circle area in front of the castle, circa 1984. The little round flowerbed in the middle is where the Partners statue now stands, and notice how the tree planters and benches still surround the center area (I miss that - much more shady and less crowded-feeling back then in the middle):

What year did they put the partners statue in?

 

[zackiedawg]

Actually, I think that's where the Frontierland Smoking Section now sits. At least, those totem poles are still there, and I don't believe they've ever been moved.

Sounds about right. I can't remember those totem poles, but I'm also not familiar with that smoking site. I'm like the frog in the boiling pot not knowing he's being cooked - I have been going to Disney so often every year since it opened that it's hard to notice the changes since they're incremental and over a long period of time!

Nope. That's where the Frontierland Parade Gate is now. Splash Mountain is a little bit further up to the right.

Thanks! Helps me picture the current location a little better.

What year did they put the partners statue in?

I'm not sure if I have the exact year correct, but I want to say 1995 or so. They first put in the statue and still left more of the planters around it so it was more tucked in, then later renovated the center area to open it all up like it is today (not as pretty but fits more people in the space for the stage shows, I guess!).

 

[chicagoshannon]

Thank you! I feel less crazy now. I never remembered that statue from when I was a kid!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

1981

Thanks for posting your photos, and especially this old Ft. Wilderness photo.

Do you have any other old Ft. Wilderness photos? If so, I know a lot of folks on the camping section of this board was love to see those.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Great photos!!!! Thank you!!!!

This totem pole one is interesting to me.

A while back, someone posted this photo:

When it was posted, folks could not place these totem poles anywhere in the MK. I posted the photo on the camping boards, thinking perhaps these totems had been somewhere in Fort Wilderness, but no one remembered them there. An astute observer pointed out that there appeared to be a railroad crossing arm in the back ground of the photo. But the consensus was that this photo did not look like WDW.

Looking at these two photos, I think the fence and the rocks look pretty darn close, and the totem pole in your picture looks pretty close to the front totem (the one closest to the fence) in the older photo.

On my last visit to the MK in 2/09, I snapped this photo near the exit of BTMRR, thinking perhaps that these were the mysterious totems, but none of these look the same as the totems in the old photo:

I think that the totems in the two older photos may be the same. Anybody else have any observations on this?

TCD

 

[angey77]

Doesn't appear to be the same ones, but here is a pic from 1979 of my sister and I in front of mystery totem poles. I used to think it was Discovery Island, but I'm clueless. Really, I don't even remember going to Discovery Island since I was so young. And I really do think this is the first and only time I ever cried in WDW (what was wrong with me??).

But look at the railing ... it appears to be similar to the other pics posted, but not exact. But there is water behind everything in my pic. Anyone want to take a stab at it?

 

[zackiedawg]

Looking at these two photos, I think the fence and the rocks look pretty darn close, and the totem pole in your picture looks pretty close to the front totem (the one closest to the fence) in the older photo.

I think that the totems in the two older photos may be the same. Anybody else have any observations on this?

TCD

I would say it looks about 90% sure that the older photo are the same totems as in my photo, just from a slightly different angle and farther away. I'd guess too that the other photo is from 1971 or early 1972, because it looks like landscaping is incomplete, and the trees are much much smaller. But the hill in the background, the tree just to the left of the frame, the main totem behind where I'm sitting, and the tall rock jutting up on the left of frame all seem a perfect match.

I actually didn't know the location of this either - I did alot of searching on the web to come up with either Fort Wilderness or maybe Magic Kingdom. Some other Disney fans I know came up with some old photos of the path to the Frontierland train station that had the same fence and rock lined path in it, which was the first guiding suspicion...then further searching turned up a written description of the Frontierland station area that specifically mentioned the large grassy area spotted with trees and totem poles where BTMRR is currently. That seemed to all come together as pretty solid information, since I put together 2 or 3 different sources that all placed my photo in Frontierland.

It's been very interesting to go back through my own archives and find all this stuff that I can't even remember!

 

[zackiedawg]

Doesn't appear to be the same ones, but here is a pic from 1979 of my sister and I in front of mystery totem poles. I used to think it was Discovery Island, but I'm clueless. Really, I don't even remember going to Discovery Island since I was so young. And I really do think this is the first and only time I ever cried in WDW (what was wrong with me??).

But look at the railing ... it appears to be similar to the other pics posted, but not exact. But there is water behind everything in my pic. Anyone want to take a stab at it?

I'd guess yours are in Frontierland too actually. Just a wild guess...but in the background on the water, it looks like the prop wash from one of the Tom Sawyer rafts?...hard to tell for sure, but with the matching fence and rocks at the bottom, you seem to be in a similar area but not the same spot. You might be much closer to Rivers of America, maybe near the spot where the Splash Mountain flume makes the turnaround after the drop? That would give you the Tom Sawyer rafts in the background. Wild guess!

 

[angey77]

I'd guess yours are in Frontierland too actually. Just a wild guess...but in the background on the water, it looks like the prop wash from one of the Tom Sawyer rafts?...hard to tell for sure, but with the matching fence and rocks at the bottom, you seem to be in a similar area but not the same spot. You might be much closer to Rivers of America, maybe near the spot where the Splash Mountain flume makes the turnaround after the drop? That would give you the Tom Sawyer rafts in the background. Wild guess!

Good eye on the prop wash, I never noticed that!
I'm going to be on a totem pole hunt in May. I'm deeply curious now.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I would say it looks about 90% sure that the older photo are the same totems as in my photo, just from a slightly different angle and farther away. I'd guess too that the other photo is from 1971 or early 1972, because it looks like landscaping is incomplete, and the trees are much much smaller. But the hill in the background, the tree just to the left of the frame, the main totem behind where I'm sitting, and the tall rock jutting up on the left of frame all seem a perfect match.

I actually didn't know the location of this either - I did alot of searching on the web to come up with either Fort Wilderness or maybe Magic Kingdom. Some other Disney fans I know came up with some old photos of the path to the Frontierland train station that had the same fence and rock lined path in it, which was the first guiding suspicion...then further searching turned up a written description of the Frontierland station area that specifically mentioned the large grassy area spotted with trees and totem poles where BTMRR is currently. That seemed to all come together as pretty solid information, since I put together 2 or 3 different sources that all placed my photo in Frontierland.

It's been very interesting to go back through my own archives and find all this stuff that I can't even remember!

Thanks, this was something that had me stumped for a while. Interestingly enough, there used to be quite a few totem poles around Ft. Wilderness, and now there are none. It is amazing how barren this area of the MK looks in the older photo, yet how extensive the landscaping is in your photo.

TCD